Gods word

If we want to be really effective in doing Gods work, we need to know His word.  It says in Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet & a light to my path".  Gods word is our guide. We need it's direction & wisdom in our lives.  If we aren't spending time daily in Gods word, how do we know the direction God wants us to go.  The more time we spend in Gods word the easier it is to understand what God wants us to do.  I think that we miss out on a lot that God has for us because we don't spend enough time studying Gods word.

      It also says in Hebrews 4:12 that the word of God is living & active.  I think that we forget that today.  Because it is living & active, it can change us , our situations, our world, etc. .  However, once again if we don't know it  & aren't meditating on it then we can't know how to use it.  Almighty God has given us His word & all of the power in it if we would just take the time to learn it & use it.  We need to know there is great power in Gods word.

     Gods word is our guide & it has unlimited power to do great things.  Sadly, it's like anything else, if we won't open it, read it, learn it, & use it, it does us no good.  We are wasting all of that power available to us.  We're missing out on so much if were not studying it.  If you're wanting to do great things for God, get in His word.  It will change you.

He wants you

Something I struggled with when I started ministry was I didn't feel that I fell into the mold of a minister.  I thought about a lot of ministers I knew, had seen & heard & I didn't see myself like them. Mostly, I thought about my grandpa & I didn't see myself doing the things he had done.  He boldly preached Gods word.  He was great with the youth.  He visited people in their homes & hospitals.  He took care of the things at church.  All that without any formal training.  He had the heart of a pastor.  How could I ever do the things he did.  I'm sure Joshua felt much the same way after taking over for Moses.  In Joshua chapter 1, God told Joshua that Moses was dead & it was time for Joshua to lead.  I think God is telling us that today, "Its now your time to lead".  We need to quit comparing ourselves to others & telling ourselves why we don't measure up.  Those people did their work & now it's time we do ours.  God wants us to lead.  They did their work so that we would have an opportunity to do ours.  God created you just for this time & this purpose to do His work.  That was why He put you here now, it wasn't an accident.  He goes on to tell Joshua to be strong & courageous & that He would be with him & not fail him.  I believe He's telling us the same thing today.  Be the you He created you to be & lead.

Have patience

Yesterday, I said that I didn't rejoice in tests & struggles but I know they produce good things for me.  Tonight's qualification ranks right up there. It's patience.  1 Samuel 24 gives the perfect example. Saul had been trying to kill David for a long time. David had been anointed the future king & Saul wanted to get rid of him.  One day, Saul unknowingly fell into David's hands & David's warriors encouraged him to take his opportunity.  David however waited  for Gods timing & not his own.  That's a hard thing to do sometimes.  This was his chance but he knew it was not Gods perfect timing.  
     I was licensed to preach almost two years ago & I'm still waiting for Gods direction.  It can be tempting to try to run out on your own, rationalizing why it's Gods will for you, but it's important to make sure you're always following Christ.  He knows the best plan for you & He knows the perfect time for you to do it.  David realized it & he was rewarded.  In the same token, when David went out on his own he was met with disastrous results.  There is a lesson to be learned there.  Gods timing is always perfect.  He knows just when you need something & He knows just when it's time for you to go & stay.  Like we talked yesterday, it all comes down to trusting Him that He has the best plan for you at just the right time.

It's a gift

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials (James 1:2 NASB). The Message translation says it this way, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests & challenges come at you from all sides." I have to say that Idont usually think of it as joy or as a gift when troubles come at me from all sides.  I don't even like one or two.  But I have learned one valuable thing that comes from them.  I think for me God has used them to help me learn to lean on & trust Him.  I have seen Him work out things in my life that I absolutely had no idea how He could work it out.  Each time He has,it's another victory that I can draw strength from during the next test or challenge.  Even though I might not have liked it or understood it at the time I now take great courage from how God provides. So now I try to remind myself when those tests & challenges come that God will provide.  He did in the bible, He has in my life, & He has in the lives of many others I know.  Then I try to remember that it's not for me to figure out but it is for me to trust, have faith, & believe. This is a hard part of the qualifying process but it is a necessary part for us to do the great work He has for us to do.

Not about me

For God to truly use the unqualified, we have to realize we are not capable but we belong to Someone who is . It says in John 3:30 (NLT) that " He must become greater & greater, & I must become less & less." If we start relying on what we can do, it is a short list.  But if we rely on God to work through us there is no limit to what can be done.  I know when I talk to someone about Christ or go somewhere to preach, it's not about me.  I don't have the ability to do it but if I'm available, God can use me to spread His word.  I'm not a good writer & I know very little about social media but God can still use me to write a blog.  If we realize how little we are, we can see how big God is.  He just needs us to be available for use.  I can tell you that there is nothing you will do that is more important, rewarding, & lasting than what God has for you to do.  We just need to get out of the way, let Christ become greater in our lives, & allow Him to do a great work.  If we think of ourselves less & God more, just think what He can do with a bunch of "unqualified" Christians.

Break my heart

I think God sometimes uses brokenheartedness to qualify a person to do His work.  In the first chapter of Nehemiah, Nehemiah's heart was broken for is people.  That brokenheartedness caused Nehemiah to be motivated to do the work that God needed him to do.  It says when he heard the news about his people, he wept.  Is your heart broken about anything going on around you today?  If it is, God might be calling you to get involved in helping with that situation.  I think quite honestly, the world needs a few more brokenheartedness people who are willing to get involved.  There needs to be things that bother us enough to try to make a change.  Unfortunately I think far too often we hope someone else will get involved in fixing a problem, but maybe you're that someone else.  Nehemiah was brokenhearted for his people, then he prayed, then he went.  We need people who will go.  Don't stay at brokenhearted.  Seek God & then go to where He sends you.  If God calls you, he is already there preparing everything you need to do His work.

Love

Last night I said we needed God to remove unforgiveness from us & fill us with love.  Love has a way of pushing out the bad stuff.  It says in John 13:35 that "your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." Its also the greatest commandment to love God & one another.  Thats what separates us.  Gods love for us, our love for Him & our love for others go a long way towards qualifying us. We will make mistakes from time to time but we can always love others.  That's how we show Christ to them.  If we truly love Christ, love & service for others naturally flow from that relationship.  Also that love for Christ will push us to know more about Him.  The more we know about Him, the more we want to serve Him & others.  It's kind of a cyclical thing that just keeps bringing out more love.  Before God sends you out to do His work, He has to know that you truly do love others.  If you can do that, just love them because God loves them, He can use you to take His message to others.  If people know you love them & that Christ loves them, they will listen to His message.  Ask God to help you love Him & others more so that He can use you for His plan.

Let it Go

So I believe God gave me the courage I have needed & then I think something in me had to go.  It's something I don't think I even really thought about that often but it was always there. I think unforgiveness is a huge anchor that holds us back from Gods best.  It can be unforgiveness towards others or ourselves.  I dont have any big stories of terrible wrongs that have been done to me but I had probably held on to some things because I felt I had a right to be mad about them.  After all, I had been wronged.  That's Satan talking to us.  As Christians, we have to remember that Christ gave us our example.  He was perfect yet beaten, ridiculed, & hung on a cross.  If anyone had a right to not forgive, it was Him.  Yet while hanging on the cross, He said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." If He could forgive them & me, what right do I have to hold on to bitterness.  It only holds you back.  It affects your relationship with Christ.  Anything that does that has to go.  Today ask God to search you & if there's any unforgiveness in you, ask Him to get rid of it.  Once He removes it, ask Him to fill that empty space with His love & see how much lighter you feel.

Courage

Where to start in the growth process?  I think back as I started into ministry & what God had to work on me first because there was & is a long list.  I think for me the "starting" point was courage.  I needed the courage to do something I knew I couldn't.  My grandpa was a minister not me. But as Acts 27:25 says "Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it wil turn out exactly as I've been told." Here Paul was talking about a ship that he was on but was getting ready to crash.  Paul had reason to be afraid & question Gods plan but his response was "keep up your courage".  I think today being a Christian, Paul would tell us to keep up our courage.  When you're already questioning "Am I qualified" , you have to have courage to begin that journey.  So you start that journey & you think you're doing what God wants you to do so now it's smooth sailing.  Oh, but you forgot, the growth process.  So struggles & tests come & once again you need courage.  God is looking for people to stand up & courageously follow Him.  Courage is not that you aren't ever afraid but it's trusting God enough to move on in spite of that fear.  I believe courage comes from facing trials & struggles with God & seeing how God moves on your behalf.  It reminds me of the song "Mighty To Save" .  I believe that's courage.  Knowing that we have a God Who loves us enough & is mighty enough to save us when we can't.  Knowing that makes it easier to have courage.

Growing pains

After looking at a few examples here & many examples throughout the Bible, I started learning that it's really not about being qualified. It is about letting God use me & qualify me even though my own abilities weren't enough.  It was about realizing how woefully unqualified I am but how powerful God is.  Once I realized being qualified or unqualified really wasn't the issue, then the question became how would God use me.  This part of the journey is the hard part in some ways but in some ways it's also the most rewarding.  You see for God to get you where He can use you for His work, there is a growth process that must take place.  Refining must be done.  Sometimes that means there is fire to go through.  If you remember that Romans 8:28 says" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." , then you know that the growth process will bring things out for your good.  Maybe you feel like you're going through the fire right now.  Let me encourage you, God is preparing you for a great work.  We will take a look at some of the things we go through in the growth process.  Well look at things God will build in us & things He wants to get rid of.  Do you have the courage to go through it?  I'm not always sure I do but well pray for that courage & well pray for each other.  Do you love Him enough to go through the growth process & come out stronger?  Remember God loves you & He rewards those who seek Him.  God wants to do great things through you!

Tell the Doubts to Go

When doubts filled my mind , Your comfort gave me renewed hope & cheer. (Ps.94:19 NLT).  When things don't go according to plan & it takes a lot longer than you thought, doubts can begin to fill your mind.  Satan will even send people to help throw a few more doubts in.  Over the last couple of years, I have to say there have been more than a few times that I have questioned whether or not God was really asking me to do ministry.  When I started I really felt like I would be pastoring a growing church by now & I'm not.  I go through some periods when I don't even fill in very often.  It does get discouraging sometimes.  That's what Satan wants, a discouraged Christian.  That's when you have to get away with God & spend time seeking Him & His will for your life.  His timing is not always ours.  His path is not always ours.  I have to say every time I have done that I have always come away with a renewed hope.  I don't always know the exact direction but I do know that God has a ministry for me to do.  So if you're feeling like its not working out & you really must not be qualified, let me encourage you.  Don't give up!  Seek God, seek His will.  God has a ministry for you as well & don't let Satan or anyone else discourage that!

Trust

"But Lord , "Gideon replies, "how can I rescue Israel?  My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, & I am the least in my entire family!" (Judges 6:15 NLT).  So Gideon struggled with the feelings of being unqualified as well.  So He doesn't feel qualified to do what God asked him & then God tells him he has too many warriors, & some have to go home.  If I'm Gideon, that's probably not making me feel any more qualified.  So Gideon's army drops from 32,000 to 300.  If you were going into battle, would you want 32,000 or 300 warriors.  But again, Gods plans are not ours.  God knew the outcome of this fight & it didn't matter if they had 32,000 or 1 to fight .  He wanted Gideon to trust in Him & only Him.  Gideon trusted.  God delivered.  God gave them the victory & He received the glory.  Sometimes that's what God wants to see.  Do we trust in Him or are we relying on our own power, strength, resources, etc..  That's dangerous.  When we start relying on ourselves & leaving God out, we are relying on limited abilities & resources.  Gods power & resources , do not go through slumps, recessions, & they are unlimited.  When things get scary, look bleak, or fear creeps in, who else would you want to place your trust in?  Place your trust in God & let Him deliver in your life.

Obedience

You probably won't see this one on the list of top military stragities. In Joshua 6 God tells the Israelites to march around the city walls 6 times and then shout and blow the trumpets. That was their key to victory. The Israelites were obedient. They did just as God commanded. What were the results you ask? Victory! It happened just like God promised. They marched, shouted and when the trumpets blew the walls came down. Victory was theirs. Now if they weren't obedient, would they have had victory? Probably not. God blesses obedience. The walls seemed insurmountable, just like our problens seem sometimes. God's plan didn't seem to make sense but they followed it. Today we often  want all the answers before we will follow God's plan. Is that keeping us from victories that God has for us? If we no the plan is from God do we trust him enough to follow it even when the plan doesn't seem to make sense or we don't have all the answers? Will we be obedient? God will bring down the walls but we must first be obedient. Obedience to Christ is the key to victory to any battle we are facing today.

Follow

Let me take you back to the days before rain.  You're Noah & you're minding your own business being the only righteous person in a corrupt world.  That had to be very discouraging.  Then one day God comes to you & tells you to build a boat because He's going to flood the earth.  I imagine if I was Noah I might have said "what's a boat & what's a flood." However, the only response it shows is "So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded Him(Gen. 7:5 NLT).  He didn't question, he just followed.  Even though he bayberries didn't understand the plan, he followed.  So for around 100 years, Noah built the ark.  Can you imagine the ridicule from his neighbors.  Maybe even his family began to wonder about the voice Noah heard.  And yet Noah followed.  Then one day the rains came, the earth was flooded, & Noah & his family were saved.  All because Noah followed.  I think we need to spend less time trying to understand Gods plan & more time following Gods plan.  It might take a while, we might be ridiculed, but we need to follow.  God will provide what we need at the exact time we need it if we will just follow .  We may not always understand the plan but we can always trust the creator.

Expect

I find myself oftentimes thinking "o.k. God I've got the plan.". It always seems so easy to me.  If God will just work things out this way then my desired results will work out.  But Isiah 55:8 says"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts & My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." That's Gods reminder to us that there's no point in trying to figure out things, we just need to trust Him.  Occasionally , I find myself thinking this doesn't bake any sense.  Gods not worried about that either.  He wants what's best for us, not always what makes sense to us.  It says His ways are far beyond what we can imagine.  Our plans that seem so good to us may be exactly that, good.  He doesn't want "good" for us, He wants best.  He doesn't want us to settle but He wants us to have everything He has prepared fir us.  We need to start asking more what Gods plan is for us & following it & spend less time telling Him our plans.  So in the next section we are going to be taking a look at some people who followed Gods plan even when it didn't seem to make sense.  Hopefully it will help us follow God in our own lives even when things don't make sense.

Let's get fishin

It's time for Jesus to start His ministry & He's looking for disciples to go with Him to help Him spread the message & learn from Him.  So if you are Jesus where do you go look?  Probably not where Christ went.  He went to the Sea of Galilee & found a bunch of tired, frustrated, sweaty, smelly.fishermen to be the men he would use to change the world.  He didn't ask what college or seminary they attended.  He knew their hearts.  He knew their strengths & weaknesses.  Again, He was interested in their hearts & their availability.  Today He's still interested in those same things.  Today He's still looking for people who have the heart & availability to serve Him.  Do you think that Christ can still take 12 people who are devoted to Him & use them to change the world?  Don't you think in today's world Christs message of love & hope is needed?  Luke 5:10 says Christ told Peter, " Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" His message hasn't changed from then to now.  He still wants us to be fishing for people.  If He could take a few fishermen & use them to spread His word, cast out demons, & start His church, what could He do with a few fired up devoted Christians today?  It starts with you!

Let Me Use You

We are confident of this because of our great trust in God through Christ.  It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.  Our qualification comes from God.  (2 Cor. 3:4-5 NLT).  So three of the major characters of the bible had very few "qualifications" & my grandpa had probably even less qualifications but look how God qualified each of them.  What a great work for His kingdom God did through each of them.  You see those are the people God loves to use because they're willing & He can shine through them.  Really sometimes the less qualified you are the better.  The first time I "preached" I knew how unqualified I was & I told God He was going to have to do it because I couldn't.  I felt extremely nervous for about the first 30 seconds because I knew these people & worse yet, Almighty God , was depending on me to deliver Gods holy word.  That's responsibility!  After that I knew God said let Me have it, just let me use you.  As soon as that happened & I moved out of the way, that was when God could work.  That's all He's asking of us unqualified people is to step out of the way & let Him use us.  God says He will do the talking if we will just go to that neighbor or family member.  He will pour out forgiveness to the person who hurt us if we'll reach out our hand.  What's too hard for us is no problem for Him.  He just wants to use us, let Him worry about the qualifications!

Second Chance

Have you ever made a mistake or had something in your past that you just know has to disqualify you from being used by God?  Let me encourage you by saying that there is nothing you can do or have done that Gods grace cannot cover if you will let Him.  I think though that Paul might have felt that way when he was still Saul. After all, he had spent his life persecuting Christians.  But God had other plans for Him.  God wanted Paul to spread the gospel to Gentiles,kings, & people of Israel. He also had plans for Paul to write a large part of the New Testament. So Christ got Paul's attention & brought him to his knees in order to show him his new purpose.  Even after Christ had made the change in Paul, how was Paul going to work with other Christians who feared him because of his previous occupation.  Don't worry, Christ went ahead of Paul & worked that out as well.  You see that's what God does. He restores.  He qualifies the unqualified.  He puts you back in the game when you think you can't be used anymore.  He is the God of second, third, fourth, etc. chances.  So if you're feeling unqualified, used up, or out of chances,find Christ & see what great things He wants to do with you.  God didn't use up all of His miracles in the bible.  He might even have a greater work for you than was done by Paul!

Gods anointing

So you're a teenage boy out (again watching sheep) the youngest of all the brothers, when a guy comes along & anoints you king.  What an ego boost.  Then you, the anointed king, gets sent to take lunch up to your older brothers at the front lines of battle.  He was probably thinking his dad must not know who he was.  And then his older brother looks at him & says "what are you doing here anyway?".  Thats no way to treat the anointed king.  How unqualified was David feeling? But David went out & fought Goliath when all of the "warriors" we're hiding & shaking in fear.  Why did this "unqualified" anointed king do that?  He did because he knew who was with him.  He was moving forward by the power of Gods name.  It wasn't David's power against Goliath but it was Gods power against Goliath.  Gods power will win every time.  Have you had people like David's brother in your life?  People who didn't understand your "qualifications" might be few but Gods anointing upon you is great!  David was young & inexperienced but he was a man after Gods own heart.  What other qualifications did he need?  If it was that way for David, it works that way for you today.  Gods anointing is all you need to be qualified.  Be like David.  Walk into Gods anointing for your life, know that nothing can stop you for Gods plan for you, & go defeat the giants!